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Raise your hand if you could use a happy money story this holiday season! Will some Powerball lottery winners who are combining their new spending power with some patriotism do? Their huge donation to a pile of veterans' groups is a nice reminder that money isn't everything, but it can make a big difference if you use it wisely.
I mean, really, what better way to spend a chunk of your change than to split it among groups that help the men and women returning home from deployment and the families of our fallen heroes?
Right now, $200,000 is winding its way to each of the following: The Bob Woodruff Foundation, Building Homes for Heroes, Services for the Under Served, Operation First Response, and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. The three men who raked in $103.5 million total (Greg Skidmore, Brandon Lacoff, and Tim Davidson opted for a lump sum payment) have promised those are just the "first of many" philanthropic ways they'll be spending their cash. I don't doubt they're telling the truth. The three winners are money managers by trade and they've already created the Putnam Avenue Family Trust with the funds claimed just last week. That's putting your money where your mouth is: pun very much intended.
But even if they stop right there, and use the rest of the money to buy yachts and build McMansions, I'd be pretty content with what they've done. Heck, I'd still be inspired. A $200,000 donation is huge for any organization. Choosing to help groups connected to our nation's military, in particular, means potentially affecting thousands, maybe millions of lives. For these veterans' groups, the money will be put into efforts that can lift spirits and possibly even save lives. And we all know that one life saved has ripple effects, positively boosting their families, their friends.
We aren't all lottery winners. Many of us are afraid of spending this holiday season. But these donations these men have made are a nice reminder that you don't have to take your entire bank account to make a difference for our military families. Just give what you can. It could be that $1 you donate is the one that makes all the difference.
Will you take their message of using money wisely to help our troops this holiday season?
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